Genealogy Chat

Birth Year <1866> Birthplace Sherrington, Lancashire, England Age 15 Occupation Coal Miner Marital Status Head of Household William HOUGHTON Relation Son Disability Source Information: Dwelling 67 Brackley St Census Place Worsley, Lancashire, England Family History Library Film 1341926 Public Records Office Reference RG11 Piece / Folio 3875 / 43 Page Number 30 William HOUGHTON Household Male Other Information: Birth Year <1838> Birthplace Wigan, Lancashire, England Age 43 Occupation Coal Miner Marital Status M <Married> Head of Household William HOUGHTON Relation Head Disability Source Information: Dwelling 67 Brackley St Census Place Worsley, Lancashire, England Family History Library Film 1341926 Public Records Office Reference RG11 Piece / Folio 3875 / 43 Page Number 30 Mary HOUGHTON Household Female This is who I think is the link is, but I thought the family would have stayed in one place Wigan, it seems that they moved around a lot. I was also told that there was an infamous highway man in the family who was hung at Lancaster Castle. I have traced him, it was 1815 but not made the link if there is one. Do you think that the 2 William's are correct? both Coal Hewers, same date of birth. Any idea's

You can order online from the following address (remove brackets) http://www(.)gro(.)gov(.)uk/gro/content/certificates/ They have easy to follow screens to put your information in. Try doing one to the point of payment so you can see what they ask for. Hope this helps Jon

I'm not sure if this applies to all places but I use the local Birmingham office to get my certificates as I am luck enough to live there and all my family originate from there. When I ask for a birth certificate, if I know who the father should be, I always state on the request form "only required if father is ******" and the same if I know who the mother should be and not the father. This way I have not wasted money on wrong certificates. Not sure about ordering on line though!. Karen

Hi, have to say it all made my head spin!! If you are not certain, just keep trawling as it costs £7 a time for a cert. If you want the certs you can go to the website.

Hello Ian Firstly - I'll pass on a recommendation I've seen elsewhere. Becasue GR sees fit to make the initial message into a single paragraph, it makes it very hard to read. Someone suggested - and it makes sense to me - that you just put something like "see the reply I'm about to put below" and then reply to your own thread. That way you can lay the information out much more clearly. (It escapes me why GR don't allow you to make a sensible message in the first place!) Secondly... You might find some info by using the local BMD sites/offices. For instance the Lancashire website is at: http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/ and was last updated on 3 november. It isn't complete yet, so may not have the info you're after, but the GRO lists are only quarterly transcriptions of the local lists. That means that, if you go to the local office for info, you get one transcription less between you and the source - one chance less for errors and omissions! It costs the same. As for comparing the info from one census to the next... You just have to make a judgement. People don't seem to have been all that bothered about accuracy (they didn't know we'd be coming after them trying to work out our ancestry!) and there was nothing to force them to tell the truth. Sometimes it's very obvious that the enumerators didn't understand local accents - you can tell by the garbled names of both people and places. And then the online censuses are transcriptions from antique handwriting - never easy, and sometimes completely bizarre in outcome. My great-grandfather was born in Maidenhead or Ilford, depending on the census. One of my husband's female ancestors managed to age consistently only nine years over each ten years between the censuses! good luck! Christine

Help please, I have gathered quite a lot of information and found a possible link, but how can I make sure it is correct? The information is: 1901 Census for my family group is, 21 Betley St, Hindley William Houghton - 35 - b. Skelmesdale - Hewer in Coal Mine Elizabeth - 35 - b. Hyde Henry - 15 - b. Farnworth - pony driver in coal mine Ernest - 13 - b. Farnworth Lily - 11 - b. Platt Bridge William - 9 - b. Platt Bridge Joseph - 7 - b. Burtonwood John - 5 - b. Burtonwood Arthur - 2 - b. 1891 England Census - living at 10 Platt Street, Hindley. Houghton, Elizabeth Age: 25 Born: Hyde, Lancashire Relation: Wife Living at: Hindley Lancashire Houghton, Ernest Age: 2 Born: Farnworth, Lancashire Relation: Son Living at: Hindley Lancashire Houghton, Harry Age: 4 Born: Farnworth, Lancashire Relation: Son Living at: Hindley Lancashire Houghton, William Age: 25 Born: Skelmersdale, Lancashire Relation: Head Living at: Hindley Lancashire Occupation: Collier. Houghton, William Age: 3.12 Born: Hindley, Lancashire Relation: Son Living at: Hindley Lancashire Stafford, Ellen Age: 15 Born: Hyde, Lancashire Relation: Boarder Living at: Hindley Lancashire Stafford, John Age: 21 Born: Hyde, Lancashire Relation: Boarder Living at: Hindley Lancashire Occupation: Collier From a certificate in 1888 I know that William Houghton and Elizabeth Stafford was married Williams father was William coal miner and Elizabeth’s father was Henry Stafford deceased joiner. Looking on the 1881 census I found a William Houghton from Sherrington, Lancashire, England born 1866 with a father called William who was a coal miner Living at 67 Brackley st Worsley. I am not convinced it is the correct William Houghton. The same with the Stafford family, I found an Elizabeth and Henry who was a joiner but born in York and live in 208 West Street not Farnworth. Elizabeth’s birth date is 2 years out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If I am right how do I get the GRO for birth certificates? Regards Andrew